Thanks Shan Valley for the free sample. On first appearance, the leaves of this green tea are quite dark. After the first steep the aroma of the leaves surprised me a lot. While I smell the expected woodsy-ness and smoky aromas, there’s a strong smell of something very rich (think tobacco or burning pine) that comes through a lot. While I’m not big on strongly roasted greens, this aroma really surprised me. The tea itself is quite easy to drink. It’s pretty roasted and doesn’t lie too heavy on the palette, just make sure you steep at a bit lower temperature to not bring out too much of the astringency that can come through with “oversteeped” roasted greens unless ya know, you’re up for that kinda thang